The present invention relates to a machine for embossing sheet material, for instance paper. A machine embodying the invention may be used for a variety of purposes, including serving as an aid for blind and partially-sighted people.
Blind people can learn to read by touch, by running a finger over a line of characters embossed in a sheet of paper. Several character systems have been devised. In one of them, the Braille system, characters are made up of embossed dots. Each character is formed by embossing a unique combination of dots selected from an array of six dots. The same six dot array is used for all characters.
The number of distinct characters available in the Braille system makes Braille versatile. Furthermore, since all Braille characters are formed on the same array of dots, the printing of Braille is not difficult. Braille has been widely adopted and a large volume of printed material is available. However, Braille characters bear little or no resemblance to their Roman type equivalents. This makes Braille a difficult system to learn, particularly for those who lose their sight late in life.
The Moon system is an alternative system of embossed writing and was invented in 1847. The characters incorporate embossed lines and curves, and many characters are the same as or closely related to their Roman type equivalents. This makes Moon easier to learn for readers who have had sight, but more difficult to print. It is printed in a way analogous to settable type printing. Each piece of type is an embossing head for embossing one character. The type is assembled to form a page of script which is embossed onto a sheet of paper in one pressing action. Moon material is much slower to print than Braille material, and as a result, a much smaller selection is available to the reader.
Furthermore, the type-setting method has been the only method used for producing Moon material, up to the present date.